[ToloNews] The General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) said on Twitter that three key members of ISIS were killed in operations by Islamic Emirate forces in PD 5,8 and 10 in Mazar-e-Sharif, the center of Balkh province.
Those killed included Zainuddin, ISIS's temporary head of Balkh and head of the judicial system, Abu Omar Afridi, a member of the ISIS Khorasan council, and Ustad Salman Tajikistani, who was in charge of military training and organizing mines.
The GDI said that previously in an operation of the Islamic Emirate’s forces in Faryab, all members of the group that organized the attack on Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, former governor of Balkh, were arrested.
According to GDI, the members of this group are Tajikistan nationals and were sent to Afghanistan for an attack.
"In three police districts, 5, 8 and 10, the recent information shows that their key leaders have been killed," said the Islamic Emirate’s front man, Zabiullah Mujahid.
The announcement of the interim government about the killing of ISIS fighters sparked a reaction from the former US special envoy for Afghanistan’s reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad.
Khalilzad said on Twitter that if confirmed, "this would be a significant blow to IS-K in Northern Afghanistan."
"The Taliban
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had committed in the Doha Agreement to fight IS-K. The removal of these ISIS leaders indicates that it is doing so," Khalilzad said.
Khalilzad urged the US and Taliban to increase engagement to complete implementation of the Doha Agreement "which serves Afghan and US interests."
"Whenever the operations take place, they consider it both in the interest of the US and Islamic Emirate. This provokes the ISIS fighters against the Islamic Emirate," said Salim Kakar, a political analyst.
Some sources said that internal conflict in ISIS has increased.
Political analysts said that the recent steps of the caretaker government against ISIS have weakened the group.
"ISIS has been suppressed. The Islamic Emirate took serious actions against it. It is not as much as the US over-played it," said Abdul Mateen Mohammad Khail, a military veteran.
"As the Taliban is engaged in undermining ISIS, this is a good step," said Asadullah Nadim, military veteran.
According to the interim government’s numbers, at least 70 operations have been conducted against ISIS all over Afghanistan within the last year. 
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